Gondola car.



S. OTIS.

GONDOLA CAR. gllgl-@w APPLlcATloN FILED yFa. a, 1907. Patented Apr 13, 1915' 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

THE NDRRIS PETERS CD., PHUTo-LITHQ. WASHINGTON. D. c

S. OTIS.

GONDOLA YCAR. 'APPLICATION man refl. 1901.

M@ Patented A191213, 1915.

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INE Hrm/el @NTFU NATM@ PATENT SPENCER, OTIS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 NATIONAL DUMP CAR COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

GONDOLA CAR'.

Application filed February 1, 1907.

T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, SPENCER Oris, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gondola Cars,of which the following is a specification.

rlhe object of my invention is to provide a trussed car side having the main longitudinal side sills of the car located at the top of the car side, and to suspend the main body of the side from the side sill and also to similarly suspend the intermediate transverse members of the car underframe.

My invention further consists in an improved construction of the transverse members of the underframe, and improved means for attaching the side stakes to the same.

I have illustrated my invention as embodied in a car constructed of wood but certain features thereof will be found equally adapted to steel cars.

In the drawings-Figure l is a side elevation of a car constructed according to my invention; Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the car side on the line 2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrow; Fig. 3 is a transi erse section of the car side on line 8 of Fig. l looking in the direction of the arrow; Fig. A is a side elevation of a car embodying a form of my invention differing somewhat from that illustrated in Fig. l; Fig. 5 is a plan view of a car constructed according to my invention, and; Fig. 6 is a transverse section showing the construction of one of the transverse members and the mode of attachment of the side stakes.

As will be apparent from an inspection of Fig. 6, I construct my improved car with the usual center sills c. Instead of providing side sills at the level of the underframe, I locate side sills at the top of the car sides, as shown at a. Above the center sills c are the transverse members g each consisting, as clearly shown in Fig. 5, of two planks or beams g, g running transversely of the car and resting upon the center sills c. The members g are arranged with their greatest dimension in a vertical direction in order to better sustain the load, and are spaced apart a slight distance for a purpose which will hereinafter appear. At the central portion the space between the members g is occupied by a filler to, which is suitably secured to the members g.

The side sill a is strengthened by the ten- Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. I3, i915.

Serial No. 355,260.

sion rod la, which is secured in suitable cast* ings i at the ends of the sill and passes over brackets la, la secured to the top of pillars resting upon the body bolsters. The rod z is then carried downward at either side of the car and beneath brackets Z secured to the stakes at the lower ends thereof. The tension rod it is made in two parts and provided at the center with a turnebuckle z' for properly adjusting its length. By means of this construction l provide a trussed car side, the compression member a of which replaces the usual side sill located at the level of the car underframe. The side of the car as well as the outer extremities of the transverse members g are suspended from the sill a, which transmits the weight of these parts and of the superimposed load to the bolster-s. rllhe center sills are secured to the transverse members as shown in Fig. 6, and by this construction the center sills are supported by the transverse members g and a large part of the strain thereon is transmitted through the members g to the trussed side of the car. In Fig. 4L l have shown a tension member passing under a single bracket at the center of the car.

The beams g, g constituting the transverse members nearest the center of the car are, as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, of greater thickness than those nearer the bolsters, in order to properly support the greater strain imposed upon them. As shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, the members g of the transverse sills are strengthened by means of a tension member d, consisting of a steel rod passing at its center beneath the center sills o and supported at its ends by means of angle irons f which embrace the outer ends of the transverse members g. It is obvious that the transverse member as thus constructed is adapted to sustain the center sill when the transverse member itself is upheld at the ends. Thus the transverse member is adapted to be employed only in an intermediate position between the body bolsters. l have shown the tension member l as passing through ap crtures in the angle plates f and secured in position by nuts upon the outer side of said plates.

The car side and transverse members are suspended from the sills a by means of metal bands 0 and side stakes m as shown in Fig. 6. The side stakes consist of a main body, a which may be of wood and a strengthening band p preferably ofV steel. The part a is secured to the side of the car and at its lower end mayv pass between and be secured to the transverse members g. rlhe band p is secured at its upper end to the side sill and at its lower end is riveted to a plate g which passes beneath the members g. As shown in Fig. 3, of the drawings, the lower plank Z9 of the car side, in the form shown in Fig. 1, is reinforced at its central portion by an additional plank e which extends between the two transverse beams adjacent the center of the car. In Figs. 1 and 4 of the drawings, I have shown the angle plate f as extending partially over the ends of the transverse members g, but it will be understood that the parts f may be constructed, if found desirable, of sufficient width to completely cover the ends of said members.

It will be obvious that the structure above described is adapted either to cars provided with continuous floors or to cars having dump doors. Y

` I claim:

1. A car, comprising a side sill adjacent the top of the car side, side stakes, and a truss rod secured at the ends to the side sill and adjacent its center to thelower end of one of the side stakes, the side stake serving asa strut.

2. A.wooden car, comprising a side sill adjacent the top of the car side, side stakes, and a truss rod secured at the ends to the side sill and adjacent its center to the lower end'of one of the side stakes, the side stake serving as a strut.

3. In a car, a trussed side comprising a side sill adjacent the top of the side, a truss rod, a side'stake serving as a strut between the said sill and the said truss rod, and transverse members, supported by said trussed side. Y

4L. In a wooden car, a trussed side comprising a side sill adjacent the top of the side, a truss rod, a side stake serving as a strut between the said sill and the said truss rod, and transverse members supported by said'trussed side.

5. In a car, a trussed'side comprising a side sill adjacent the top of the side, a truss rod, a side stake serving as a strut between the said sill and the said truss rod, transverse members supported by said trussed side, and center sills secured to said transverse members.

6. Ina wooden car, a trussed side comprising a side sill adjacent the top of the side, a truss rod, a side stake serving as a strut Lbetween the said sill and the said truss Y rod, transverse membersV supported by said trussed side, andcenter sills secured to said transverse members.V

7. In a car, a transverse member compris ing a pair of beams spaced apart, a side stake, and a plate extending beneath said beams and secured to the side stake.

8. In a wooden car, a transverse member comprising a pair of beams spaced apart, a side stake, and a plate extending beneath said beams and secured to the side stake.

9. In a car, a transverse member comprising a pair of beams spaced apart, and a side stake extending from the upper part of the car side into the space between said beams and secured at its lower end to a plate extending beneath said beams.v

10. In a wooden car, a transverse member comprising a pair of beams spaced apart, and a side stake extending from the upper part of the car side into the space between said beams and secured at its lower end to a plate extending beneath said beams.

11. A trussed cross member for a car, coinprising a pair of beams spaced apart and secured to the center sill, a tension member secured to said beams at their ends and spaced therefrom at the center, and a iller block between the central portions of said beams.

12. In a wooden car, a trussed cross 1nember comprising a pair of beams spaced apart and secured to the center sill, a tension member secured to said beams at their ends and spaced therefrom at the center, and a filler block between the central portions of said beams.

13. A trussed car side, comprising a side sill adjacent the top thereof, a truss rod, and side stakes serving as struts between the said side sill and the said truss rod.

14. In a wooden car, a trussed side coinprising a side sill adjacent the top thereof, a truss rod, and side stakes serving as struts between the said side sill and the said truss rod.

15. In a car, the combination of trucks, body bolsters resting thereon, a center sill, side trusses resting on said bolsters, each of said side trusses comprising a longitudinal sill near the top of the side, a truss rod and a side stake serving as a strut from the truss rod to the said longitudinal sill, intermediate cross beams and end sills secured at their ends to said side trusses and at the center to the center sill.

16. In a car, the combination of trucks, body bolsters resting thereon, a center sill, side sills resting on said bolsters, truss rods attached at their ends to said side sills and trussed cross beams secured at their ends to salild side sills and'at the center to the center si 17. In a car, the combination of trucks, body bolsters resting thereon, a center sill, side tiiisses resting on said bolsters, each of said side trusses comprising a longitudinal sill near the top of the side, a truss rod and a side stake serving as a strut, intermediate trussed cross beams and end sills secured at their ends to said side trusses and at the center to the center sill.

18. In a car, a side sill comprising a compression member and a tension member, a side stake serving as a strut between said members, and a transverse member supported by said stake.

19. In a car, a side sill adjacent the top of the car side, a truss rod secured at the ends to the side sill, a side stake serving as a strut between said sill and truss rod, and a transverse member supported by said side stake.

20. In a car, a side sill adjacent the top of the car side, a truss rod secured at the ends to the side sill, a side stake serving as a strut between said sill and truss rod, and a transverse member supported by said side stake, said transverse member comprising a pair of beams spaced apart.

21. In a car, a side sill adjacent the top of the car side, a truss rod secured at the ends to the side sill, a side stake serving as a strut between said sill and truss rod, a transverse member supported by said side stake, said transverse member comprising a pair of beams spaced apart, and a truss rod eX- tending between said beams.

22. In a car, a side sill adjacent the top of the car side, a truss rod secured at the ends to the side sill, a side stake serving as a strut between said sill and truss rod, a transverse member supported by said side stake, said transverse member comprising a pair of beams spaced apart, a truss rod eXtending between said beams, and a center sill serving as a strut between said beams and said truss rod.

23. In a car, a trussed side comprising a side sill adjacent the top of the side, a side stake serving as a strut in said trussed side, a transverse member, and a tension member extending from the top of said side stake to said transverse member.

24. In a car, a trussed side comprising a side sill adjacent the top of the side and a truss rod, a side stake serving as a strut in said trussed side, a transverse member, and means by which said transverse member is suspended from said side stake.

SPENCER OTIS.

Witnesses:

WALTER A. SCOTT, W. T. JONES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

